Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Sustainable energy options for Pakistan

M. Asif *
Glasgow Caledonian University, School of the Built and Natural Environment, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Article history:
Received 28 February 2008
Accepted 16 April 2008

With the advent of the year 2008, Pakistan faces a gap of 4500 MW between the demand and supply of
electricity, registering a shortfall of 40%. The article provides an overview of the key dimensions of the
crisis, i.e. growing gap between demand and supply, diminishing indigenous oil and gas reserves, rising
energy cost and security concerns. It also explores hydropower, solar energy, biomass and wind power as
sustainable energy options for the country. In has been found that the total estimated hydropower
potential is more than 42 GW out of which only 6.5 GW has been tapped so far. In terms of available solar
energy Pakistan is amongst the richest countries in the world, having an annual global irradiance value of
19002200 kWh/m2. Despite that fact that the biomass plays an important role in the primary energy
mix by contributing to 36% of the total supplies, it has not managed to break into the commercial energy
market. Wind power, also been identied as a potential source of energy, is yet to take off.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Sustainability
Renewable energy
Fossil fuels
Hydropower
Solar energy
Biomass
Wind power

Contents
1.
2.

3.

4.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Present energy scenario of Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.
Energy resources and their contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.
Energy demand and supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.
Rising energy cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Renewable energy in Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.
Hydropower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.
Solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.
Biomass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4.
Wind power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction
Provision of sufcient, secure and affordable energy is
indispensable to continued human development. Throughout
the course of history, with the evolution of civilizations, the
human demand for energy has continuously risen. The global
demand for energy is rapidly increasing with increasing human
population, urbanization and modernization. The world heavily

* Tel.: +44 1413318721; fax: +44 1413313696.

E-mail address: mas1@gcal.ac.uk.
1364-0321/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rser.2008.04.001

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relies on fossil fuels to meet its energy requirementsfossil fuels

such as oil, gas and coal are providing almost 80% of the global
energy demands. On the other hand presently renewable energy
and nuclear power are, respectively, only contributing 13.1% and
6.5% of the total energy needs [1]. The growth in global energy
demand is projected to rise sharply over the coming years. The
global daily consumption of oil presently stands at 85 million
barrels. According to conservative estimates the gure could rise to
113 million barrels by 2030. The currently used energy resources
will be unable to cope with future energy requirements since the
fossil fuel reserves are already on a decline. Over the last few years
the once-considerable gap between supply and demand has

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M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

narrowed. Last year that gap all but disappeared. The consequences of a shortfall would be immense. One of the immediate
impacts would be rocketing oil priceswithin rst 2 months of
2008, oil prices have twice crossed the psychological limit of $100
per barrel. It has been forecasted that if consumption begins to
exceed production by even the smallest amount, the price of oil
could soar above $100 a barrel which would result into a global
recession [2].
The enormous amount of energy being consumed across the
world is having adverse implications on the ecosystem of the
planet. Fossil fuel and nuclear energy production and consumption
are closely linked to environmental degradation that threatens
human health and quality of life, and affects ecological balance and
biological diversity. It is therefore clear that if the rapidly
increasing global energy needs are to be met without irreparable
environmental damage, there will have to be a worldwide drive to
exploit energy systems that should not endanger the life of current
and future generations and should not exceed the carrying capacity
of ecosystems. Renewable energy sources that use indigenous
resources have the potential to provide energy services with
almost nil emissions of both air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
This work presents an overview of the current energy scenario
for Pakistan in terms of its energy demand and supply, challenges
and prospects. For secure and sustainable energy future, various
renewable energy options have been explored. Hydropower and
solar energy resources have been analyzed to determine their
technical and economical viability.
2. Present energy scenario of Pakistan
Availability of energy in any country has a strong relationship
with its economic and social stability. The per capita energy
consumption is an index to measure the prosperity of any society.
An overview of the energy scenario indicates that Pakistan is an
energy decient country. The per capita electricity consumption
was 425 kWh in 200405. Over the same period, the world average
per capita electricity consumption was about 2516 kWh, almost
six times larger than that of Pakistan [3].

Table 1
Historic electricity generation and capacity mix of Pakistan
Entity

Coal
Oil
Gas
Hydro
Nuclear

Electricity
generation
capacity (MW)

Shares (%)

1980

2007

1980

2007

0.015
0.177
1.929
1.847
0.137

0.150
3.019
9.254
6.494
0.462

0.4
4.3
47.0
45.0
3.3

0.8
15.6
47.8
33.5
2.4

over the last few decades and the country is facing serious energy
shortage problems. The energy supply is not increasing by any
means to cope with the rising energy demands. As a result the gap
between the energy demand and supply is growing every year. The
number of electricity consumers has increased due to rapid
urbanization, extension of electricity grid supply to un-electried
areas and village electricationthe number of consumers has
increased from 8.2 million in 199293 to 15 million in 200506
registering a growth of 83% over the last 15 years [6]. Estimates
indicate that the energy demand in Pakistan is likely to increase
three-fold by the year 2050. On the other hand, the situation with
the supply end is not encouraging. The indigenous oil and gas
reserves are limitedoil and gas reserves are left only for 19 and 10
years, respectively [7]. Abundantly available local coal reserves
have not been capitalized to play a meaningful role in energy
supply matrix of the country. The pace of new hydropower
generation facilities has also slowed down over the last two
decades for a number of reasons and nuclear power so far has
managed to contribute to less than 3% of the total electricity supply
mix.
With the advent of 2008 the country is facing an electricity
decit of over 4000 MW, a 40% of the total demand. In business as
usual scenario by 2010 the decit could reach over 8000 MW [8].
The balance of evidences thus suggest that the already existing gap
between demand and supply is set to grow rapidly in the coming
years unless quick and meaningful measures are taken to add to
the power generation capacity of the country.

2.1. Energy resources and their contribution

2.3. Rising energy cost
The Pakistans primary energy supply mix mainly consists of
fossil fuels that contribute to more than 60% of the total supply.
Biomass-based fuels in the form of fuel wood, agricultural and
animal wastes contribute to almost 36% of the total supplies. In
terms of commercial energy, the total consumption in 200506
was 74.4 MTOE corresponding to a per capita primary energy
consumption of 0.49 TOE. The commercial energy shares, in 2005
06 were: gas, 50.3%; oil, 29.8%; hydro, 11.0%; coal, 7.6% and nuclear,
1.2%. So the primary energy use is mainly based on gas, oil and
hydro while the use of coal and nuclear energy is very small. A
breakdown of countys electricity supply indicates that thermal
power plants have the biggest share, contributing to 64% (gas
35.5%, oil 28.5%, and coal 0.3%) of the total [4]. Hydropower and
nuclear power contribute to 33% and 2.4% of the total electricity
supply, respectively, as shown in Table 1. The domestic sector is
the largest consumer of electricity accounting for 44.2% of total
electricity consumption followed by industries 31.1% and agriculture 14.3% [5].

Increasing energy cost has been having an adverse impact on

the economic conditions of the country at micro- and macro levels.
The commercial energy- and electricity generation mix of the
country heavily rely on fossil fuels the price of which, following the
global trend, has risen sharply over the last few years as shown in
Fig. 1. Soaring energy prices have become a serious concern for the
vast majority of population in Pakistan. In 2007, for example, the
price of petrol is nearly US$ 0.9 per liter. Considering per capita
GDP of Pakistan, US$ 2600 [9], such a high price has increased the

2.2. Energy demand and supply

Pakistans energy demand far exceeds its indigenous supplies.
Pakistan like other developing countries is energy decientthe
demand for primary energy in Pakistan has increased considerably

Fig. 1. Gas and furnace oil prices in Pakistan.

M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

Table 2
Estimated installed and generation capacity of some of the identied projects
Project

Installed capacity (MW)

Generation capacity (GWh)

Bunji
Bhasha
Dasu
Kalabagh
Thakot
Patan
Kohala
Neelum Jhelum
Munda
Akhori
Dubar Khwar
Allai Khwar
Golen Gol
Khan Khwar

5400
4500
4000
3600
2800
2800
1100
969
750
600
130
121
106
72

20,750
19,381
11,400
15,200
4,800
5,150

595
463
436
306

905

crucial for the country to adopt a diverse energy strategy which not
only decreases dependence on vulnerable energy supply channels
but one that also explores secure and sustainable energy resources
such as renewables.
Pakistan has proven potential for renewable energy, i.e.
hydropower and solar energy. Exploitation of these resources
can enhance diversity in Pakistani energy supply market, secure
long-term sustainable energy supplies, cut down import dependency and also reduce atmospheric emissions. They can also
provide commercially attractive options to meet specic needs for
energy services (particularly in rural areas), create new employment opportunities, and offer possibilities for local manufacturing
of equipment. The prospects of some of the crucial renewable
energy technologies in Pakistan are discussed in the coming
sections.
3.1. Hydropower

levels of fuel poverty in the society. The rocketing fuel price has a
direct knock on effect on all other living expenses making things
unaffordable for a large proportion of population. The situation is
decreasing the levels of sustainability in the society (Table 2).
3. Renewable energy in Pakistan
Renewable energy as the name implies is the energy obtained
from natural sources such as solar, wind, solar energy, hydropower, biomass energy and geothermal energy. Renewable energy
sources have also been important for humans since the beginning
of civilization; biomass, for example, has been used for heating,
cooking and steam production; wind has been used for moving
ships; both hydropower and wind have been used for powering
mills to grind grains. Renewable energy sources that use
indigenous resources have the potential to provide energy services
with zero or almost zero emissions of both air pollutants and
greenhouse gases. Renewable energy resources are abundant in
nature and are acknowledged to be vital and plentiful enough to
meet many times the entire worlds energy demand as shown in
Fig. 2.
The prevailing electricity shortage in Pakistan is an indication of
an unsustainable energy scenario for the country. It is therefore

Fig. 2. Overview of global energy demands and available renewable energy

potential.

Hydropower can be regarded as a renewable form of energy;

small and medium scale hydropower projects are considered to be
perfect examples of renewable energy; the medium to large-scale
projects for a time scale of few decades can also be regarded as
renewable form of energy but over the longer time scale questions
arise over their renewable identity as their capacity deates due to
silting. Hydropower is amongst the most mature and developed
forms of renewable energy that presently holds a signicant share in
global energy market. A major contributor to world energy supplies,
hydropower provides nearly 20% of world total electricity demands.
There are many countries in the world where hydropower plays the
predominant role in electricity supply mix. Norway, for example,
produces 99% of its electricity from hydropower while Brazil
produces 92% of its requirements from it. Similarly, Iceland produces
83%, Austria 67% and Canada produces over 70% of its electricity
from hydropower. Presently, the largest hydropower system is
Itaipu that is housed at Parana river between Brazil and Paraguay.
With installed capacity of 12.6 GW, supported by 1350 km2 of
reservoir, and working at a load factor of up to 85%, it annually
generates around 100 billion kWh of electricity [10].
Hydropower is one of the main sources of energy for Pakistan
as of 2007 hydropower contributes to nearly 33% of the total
electricity supply mix. The country has enormous potential for the
generation of hydropower. Estimates suggest the total identied
potential is over 42 GW out of which only 15%, amounting to nearly
6.5 GW, has been exploited so far. The ve major projects in this
regard include Tarbela, Mangla, Warsak and Chashma and Ghazi
Barotha, respectively, having a capacity of 3478, 1000, 240, 187
and 1450 MW [11]. A considerable part of the northern areas of
Pakistan do not have access to grid mainly due to their remoteness
and difcult terrestrial conditions. Most of these areas have a good
degree of potential for small-scale facilities as nearly 300 micro
and mini hydropower plants are already in operation. These
hydropower plants are making valuable contribution to the lives of
local inhabitants living in small villages and clusters of homes.
Despite these developments, the growth in hydropower generation capacity in the country has not been given the due attention
as a result of which the contribution made by hydropower in total
electricity generation mix has decreased from 70% in 1960 to 33% in
2006. The capacities of the existing three reservoirs based hydropower facilities in the country: Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma are
declining due to sedimentationthe live storage capacity of the
three reservoirs has been reportedly reduced by about 20% [11]. The
growth in hydropower is disproportionate in comparison to that of
the energy demand in the country. Over the last two decades the
only meaningful hydropower activity has been the construction of
1450 MW Ghazi Barotha project.

M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

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Table 3
Electricity generation cost in 2006, by fuel type
Energy source

Cost/kWh
Pak Rs.

US cents

Hydro
Coal
Gas
Nuclear

0.3
1.3
2.4
2.7

0.5
2.1
4.1
4.5

The massive vacuum created by sluggish growth in hydropower

has been lled by thermal power that now contributes to nearly
65% of the total electricity demands of the country. Here it is vital
to understand that hydropower is an indigenous and renewable
resource while oil (a key player in the thermal power generation) is
by and large a foreign one since Pakistan meats nearly 80% of its oil
demands through impacts [9]. This categorical shift from hydropower to fossil fuels thus implies that the country has seriously
compromised on its energy security. In other words, Pakistan has
become substantially dependent upon other countries to meet its
energy requirements. In the wake of the ongoing geopolitical and
military conicts in the world, especially in and around this part of
the world, the dependency upon foreign energy resources is not an
ideal situation to be in. Another downside of the shift from
hydropower to fossil fuels is the enormous scal burden. Reports
suggest that over the last 3 years due to the steep rise in
international oil prices the petroleum import bill has increased by
more than 150%from around $3 billion in 2004 to nearly 8 billion
in 2007 [12]. In the last scal year it accounted for nearly a quarter
of the total import bills of the country.
The declined share of hydropower in the energy supply mix of
Pakistan is thus not a healthy sign in any respect. In order to
surmount the prevailing energy crisis and to ensure a sustainable
energy future multi-fold exploitation of hydropower is imperative.
Pakistan must aim at switching the bulk of its electricity base back

to hydropower as quickly as possible. Sufcient resource is there

but what is missing is a combination of visionary policies and
commitment. There are at least 7 potential hydropower projects in
the country with capacity in multi-giggawatts (GW). These include
Bhasha (4500 MW), Bunji (5400 MW), Dasu (4000 MW), Kalabagh
(3600), Kohala (1100 MW), Patan (2800 MW) and Thakot
(2800 MW). Apart from these, there are a number of other projects
with capacity in hundreds of megawatts such as Neelam-Jhelum
(950 MW), Munda (750 MW) and Akhori (600 MW) as given in
Table 3. Furthermore, Water and Power Development Authority of
Pakistan (WAPDA) has also identied a number of other projects
worth collective capacity of more than 2400 MW as shown in Fig. 3
[8,13]. Notwithstanding initial work in the form of feasibility or
pre-feasibility reports was undertaken on almost all of these
potential projects years (and in some cases decades) ago,
construction of any of these is yet to be initiated. Apart from
these large-scale reservoir projects there are also a large number of
potential medium to small-scale and run-of-river projects.
Hydropower by far is the most economical source of electricity
in Pakistan. On average, the electricity production through
hydropower during 200607 accounted for a cost of US scents
0.5 kWh 1 which is the most economical choice as shown in
Table 3 [14]. The economics of the aforementioned identied
projects suggest a payback period of 34.5 years [8].
3.2. Solar energy
Solar energy is one of the most promising renewables. It is very
consistent and is not signicantly vulnerable to changes in
seasonal weather patterns. It can produce power at the point of
demand in both rural and urban areas. Solar energy can be
exploited through the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV)
routes for various applications. While solar thermal technologies
utilize the heat energy from the sun for various purposes, solar
photovoltaic technology enables direct conversion of sunlight into
electricity through semi-conductor devices called solar cells.

Fig. 3. Identied sites for hydropower generation.

M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

907

Fig. 4. Global solar radiation map of the world.

The geographic location, topography and climate conditions of

Pakistan make it an ideal candidate for exploiting solar energy. On
average, almost all parts of the country have more than 300
sunshine days in a year. The availability of 19002200 kWh/m2 of
annual global irradiance [15], as shown in Fig. 4, ranks Pakistan
amongst the richest countries of the world in terms of solar energy
potential. The gure also indicates that the distribution of solar
radiation is fairly consistent throughout the country. The available
solar radiation make the climatic conditions of Pakistan highly
favorable for solar energy applications such as solar photovoltaic,
solar water heating, solar desalination and solar crop drying.
Solar photovoltaic can be a very useful technology to deliver
electricity in remote applications where grid connectivity is
impractical. For example, in far-off villages of Balochistan,
Cholistan and Thar deserts, solar photovoltaic can be a more
convenient and value engineered solution to provide electricity for
basic needs.
Solar water heating, one of the oldest and the most successful
applications of solar thermal technologies, utilizes solar energy to
heat water without producing harmful emissions into environment. It is also one of the fastest growing renewable technologies
in the world [16]. Solar water heating, besides its domestic role,
has a wide array of applications within commercial (such as
swimming pools, laundries, hotels and restaurants) and industrial
sectors (such as food and beverages, process, and textile
industries). Around the world, water heating accounts for as
much as 1525% of the total energy consumed in domestic sector.
In the USA and UK, for example, water heating, respectively,
consumes 18% and 23% of the domestic energy [17]. While in the
industrial sector, water heating may account for a signicantly
higher share of energy. In the textile sector water heating can
account for as much as 65% of the total energy used during process
such as dyeing, nishing, drying and curing [18]. Solar water
heating is a prospective technology for countries like Pakistan that
can deliver clean energy with economy. It has been reported that
nearly 10% of the total primary energy in Pakistan is consumed in
water heating. Solar water heating under Pakistans climatic
condition can have a pay back period of less than 3 years [16]. Solar
water heating thus can make a signicant contribution to the
energy supply mix of the country and help reduce the national
reliance on energy imports.

3.3. Biomass
Biomass plays an important role in the primary energy mix of
Pakistan. The countrys large agricultural and livestock sector
produces copious amounts of biomass in the form of crop residues
and animal waste, such as bagasse, rice husk, and dung, much of
which is currently collected and used outside the commercial
economy as unprocessed fuel for cooking and household heating.
These biomass-based fuels, in conjunction with wood contribute to
almost 36% of the total primary energy mix. Sugar mills in the
country use bagasse for cogeneration purposes and have recently
been allowed to sell surplus power to the grid up to a combined
limit of 700 MW [19]. Apart from this, biomass-based fuels have
not managed to break into the commercial market. In past, pilot
projects of biogas digesters have been launched. The use of biogas
digesters in rural households, after a promising start, has stagnated
due to withdrawal of external subsidies. In addition, municipal
solid waste produced by a large urban population is presently
openly dumped, which could instead be disposed of in proper
landlls or incinerated to produce useable methane gas or
electricity.
Pakistan holds a healthy potential for biofeuls that can help
country partly meet its oil requirements, 80% of which are
presently being met through imports [20]. Recently, initiatives
have been undertaken to promote biofuels, as part of which, in
2006, in three petrol stations (one in Karachi, Lahore and
Islamabad each), fuel ethanol is being blended with petrol in a
1:9 ratio [21]. Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has been
closely involved in the biethanol advancement program. As of
2007, out of more than 70 sugar mills in the country only 6 have
facilities to transform raw molasses into fuel quality ethanol. With
the current production level of sugarcane crop, Pakistan has a
potential to produce over 4,00,000 tones of ethanol. Nonetheless,
less than one third of it is being currently produced [22]. Most of
the pilot projects launched so far being of cosmetic value the wider
perception is that despite the potential advantages, progress in
promoting bioethanol lacks policy impetus. State of affairs is that
most of the bioethanol base is being exported in different forms, i.e.
molasses, industrial alcohol and ethanol. There is also a considerable potential for bodiesel production. One of the prospective
sources in this regard is castor bean. It is a self-gown plant seen in

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M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

Table 4
Comparison of potential energy crops for biodiesel production
Crop

kg oil/ha

Castor beans
Corn (maize)
Mustard seed
Rapeseed
Sesame
Soybean
Sunowers

1188
145
481
1000
585
375
800

many parts of Pakistan particularly in arid and semi-arid areas.

Here it is noteworthy that castor bean has the highest oil content
amongst oil crops grown in Pakistan as shown in Table 4 [23].
Castor oil (derivative of castor been) is regarded as one of the best
substances to produce biodiesl because it is soluble in alcohol and
does not require heat and consequent energy requirement as other
vegetable oils do in transforming them into biodiesel. Detailed
gures and mappings for castor been production in Pakistan are
not available. Castor oil is very much an untapped resource in
Pakistan. With a little attention it can be converted into a healthy
biodiesel resource for the country. With petroleum import bill in
scal year 200607 reaching around $8 billion, substituting petrol
and diesel, respectively, with biethanol and biodiesel could
generate substantil foreign exchange savings [24].
3.4. Wind power
Wind power is one of the fastest growing renewable
technologies in the world. Within the recent past, the annual

market for wind has continued to increase at the staggering rate of

over 25% following the 2005 record year in which the market grew
by 41%. Over 20 GW of wind power was installed in 2007, led by
the US, China and Spain, bringing worldwide installed capacity to
94.12 GW. The top ve countries in terms of installed capacity are
Germany (22.3 GW), the US (16.8 GW), Spain (15.1 GW), India
(8 GW) and China (6.1 GW) [25,26].
It is reported that commercially exploitable wind resources
exist in southern parts of Pakistan, especially in coastal areas of
Sindh and Balochistan provinces, with monthly average wind
speeds reaching 78 m/s at some sites along the Keti Bandar-Gharo
corridor [19]. Fig. 5 provides the wind map of Pakistan at a height of
50 m [27]. The country, however, has not yet been able to exploit
its wind energy potentialas of early 2008, no commercial wind
farms are in operation, though some small-scale wind turbines
have long been pilot tested for community use. The very rst
efforts to identify possible exploitation of wind energy for water
pumping and aero-generation in Pakistan were made in 1980s
[28]. In the year 2002, 14 small wind turbines, six of 500 W each
and eight of 300 W each, were installed for demonstration purpose.
Out of these, eight were installed in the coastal belt of Balochistan
and six in the coastal areas of Sindh. That demonstration project
has been concluded successfullythese small wind turbines have
been found to be both technically and economically viable for
electrication of the remote communities [29]. With the help of
the detailed data made available over the last 5 years, it is now
possible to develop a clearer picture of the wind potential in the
country. There are plans to produce 700 MW of wind power in
Gharo (Sindh). The aim is to inject this power within the national
grid by 2010 [27]. Longer term aims are to develop 9.7 GW of wind
power by 2030 [30].

Fig. 5. Wind energy map of Pakistan at a height of 50 m.

M. Asif / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 903909

4. Conclusions
In order to ensure a sustainable energy future, Pakistan needs to
diversify its supply mix. Exploitation of indigenous energy resources
should be at the heart of the future strategies to enhance energy
security of the country through lessening reliance on energy imports.
Renewable energy has a crucial role to play in Pakistans sustainable
energy future. Hydropower is technically and economically the most
mature form of renewable energy. Of the available 42 GW potential,
only 15% have been exploited so far. Hydropower is closely linked
with the economic prosperity of the country and has a leading role to
play in future energy scenario of Pakistan. Besides large-scale
hydropower generation facilities, small to medium scale ones are
also critical to be developed to contribute to the national electricity
supply mix. The economics of hydropower considerably depends
upon the typical site. Analysis suggests that almost 90% of the hydropower facilities in Pakistan incur a payback period of 2.54 years.
Another important form of renewable energy that is abundantly
available in Pakistan is solar energygures show that the annual
incident solar radiation in the country is 19002200 kWh/m2. Such
a high level of available solar energy can be effectively capitalized
both for solar electric and solar thermal applications. Solar water
heating, one of the fastest growing renewable technologies in the
world, exhibits a healthy potential in Pakistan with a reported pay
back period of less than 3 years.
Biomass in the form of crop residues and animal waste plays an
important role in the primary energy mix by contributing to 36% of
the total supplies. It, however, has not managed to break into the
commercial energy market. There is a signicant potential for
commercial exploitation of municipal solid waste and biofuels. In
terms of wind power, the country has not yet been able to exploit
its resource. There are, however, plans to produce 700 MW of wind
power by 2010.
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